One for the Money, Two for the Show
by judikickshiney
Summary: Warning!Genderswap. Live and Let Live had never been one of Raito's favorite sayings. Ryuk would want to take care of the detective right away, and if he could, who was she to stop him? Girl!Raito/Human!Ryuk hints of Raito/L
1. Chapter 1

**_Quick explaination for this: _**

**_I read a genderswitch. It was fun. I liked it. Also, I was bored in econ._**

**_Ummm...enjoy? Perhaps review? I would like that. Tell me what you think, and Ishall continue to write. (Oh, a threat! Not really, I'll write anyway...)_**

**Discaimer! I am not intelligent enough to make L andLight geniuses. (You say I am? That's so sweet!) Right, so, I don't own nothing except the dead guy. I made him up myself!**

_**Written for Madi-san, dedicated to PND, because they own. I love them likea bat loves it's echoe-location. Without them life would be dull. And I'd be blind. (Not really. But sonar would be cool.)**_

**Begin Here!**

He stared out his window, his spoon continuing its rotation in his tea cup. Japan was beautiful. He was sure he would usually have enjoyed the view, but something was off today.

The case he had been working on was solved, there was no need to remain in this country, yet he felt a tug, as if he had forgotten something. Like he had missed something.

It was irrational, he knew. He wouldn't have missed anything. He was nothing if not methodical, and he was always right.

There was a very slim percentage of him ever being wrong, he had calculated it once. Given time it would either get smaller, or grow, depending on how old age would affect him, but he fully expected to be semi-retired by then, so it wouldn't really matter.

Something was wrong with him today, and he couldn't quite place what it was. The phone rang.

He got the feeling he would be leaving Japan for awhile.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

She knocked on Hajji's door, only marginally surprised when it opened by itself. Not much shocked her anymore.

"Hajji?"

Silence answered her enquiry, and it felt dark. She took a soft step in, noting the way the muted light from the shuttered window hit the glass on the floor like it was a crime best viewed in sepia tones. The position of the glass shards was noted and recorded in her mind, a cemented picture of broken innocence.

It wasn't hard for her to find Hajji. He hung off the couch like a limp doll, tongue half lolling out of his mouth, his face a blotted purple, yellow, and blue. The cord around his neck the obvious sign of death.

She reached into her pocket to find her cell phone, completely calm, if a little disappointed. She had hated Hajji, but she had needed him to access certain people, and using him was now impossible. He had obviously made someone angry. The idiot. She had told him to be more careful.

She was about to press send to report the murder when a hand covered hers.

"Hello Raito, been awhile."

"I was wondering when you were going to come out." She didn't look at her companion. Let her lack of interest show. She had run out of uses for him, for the moment. 

"If you knew I was there why didn't you say anything?"

She smirked. "I didn't want to seem needy." 

He laughed. "As if you ever had any emotion in the first place." There was a pause, then he nodded to the couch. "I would offer you a seat, but it seems to be taken."

She looked at him. Ryuk hadn't changed at all. His damnable smile was still plastered onto his face. "Why did you kill him?" If anything, his grin grew.

"Why don't we talk over dinner?"

She sighed, "I need to report him." She nodded to the corpse on the couch.

"Always efficient. You never change." He smiled. But then, she mused, he was always smiling. Always fucking smiling. She could have killed him for that.

She pressed send.

Her hysterics were a riot to Ryuk. She could feel him suppressing his laughter. She glared at him.

He loved her glare.

Still, Raito could be a frightening woman. Ryuk didn't dare laugh out loud.

She hung up, satisfied. "Shall we?" she asked, nodding at the door.

His smile grew. She let him lead the way.

The sun shone through the trees, dappling the ground with specks of gold. There was a soft breeze blowing that pushed Raito's hair away from her face. Ryuk was hard pressed not to stare.

She was beautiful. The damn prettiest thing he had ever seen, and she was completely one of a kind. He loved her, with her icy demeanor, her cruel logic, and her cold, empty eyes. She was probably incapable of any emotion, besides annoyance and anger, a cold machine in the guise of a woman. And he loved that about her. He was ready to let her use him any way she wanted, if that meant he could stay near her.

She fascinated him.

But he knew her single flaw. He grinned.

He would be able to use that.

"Where are we going to eat?" She had been quiet until then, curiosity suppressed. But he had been leading them past diner after diner, like he had a specific destination in mind. He didn't really, he just wanted to bask in her presence, like a supplicant at the alter of a goddess. To take a walk with her, like they used to, long before.

His goddess was cruel, indeed. "Here we are." He chuckled, "Were you getting nervous or somethin'?"

She snorted. "Around you? You wouldn't hurt me. You forget that I know you, Ryuk."

He grinned. She knew him, all right. 

They walked inside the restaurant, and were seated quickly. Ryuk stared at her from across the table. The waiter took their drink orders and left.

She looked at him, "You're paying."

"Of course."

She opened the menu and looked at the choice of food. "…You picked a rather expensive place to take your ex."

He chuckled. The waiter was back with their drinks. Raito asked for another few minutes, they had some catching up to do, smiling seductively. The man left blushing. Ryuk rolled his eyes.

She turned to face Ryuk once again. "Why did you kill Hajji?" She was quiet, her soft voice a caress to his long deprived ears. To quiet to carry to anyone else.

"I can't have another man touching my woman." He was only half joking, considering that that was why he killed the bastard in the first place.

She rolled her eyes in a perfect imitation of what he had done, moments before. "I'm hardly 'yours' Ryuk. If anything, it would be the other way around. You are mine. And you fulfilled your purpose. I hadn't needed you at the moment. I had needed him."

"I could get you everything he could, and more."

"You had better be able to."

"How were you paying him?" He leaned onto his elbows, his lean form slouched, head tilted.

She looked him over, a slow smirk stretching over her perfect mouth. "You were jealous? I thought you had come to terms with our relationship. It was only ever a game, Ryuk. I slept with you because I knew you wanted it, and you interested me. You don't interest me anymore, unfortunately. Though I'm glad you're a loyal sort. I think our farce worked out well enough; for me, at any rate." She hummed.

"How were you paying him?" He repeated. Yes, he had known that was all she wanted when their relationship was in it's first moments of birth. Another puppet. Always another puppet. And he would be anything she wanted him to be, just like all her other marionettes…as long as he didn't have to die to give her what she wanted. He placed a higher value on his life than the others did.

"Money." She finally answered. "He wasn't as…insistent as you. And he didn't have your eyes." She smirked at him through her lashes.

"You don't need to toy with me, Raito. You already have me where you want me." He laughed. "I'll get you whatever you want." It was almost comical, how devoted all her tools were, himself included.

"I trust you will, Ryuk. If you don't there will be hell. I would be very…unhappy with you."

"But the payment is going to have to change."

She raised an eyebrow, "I don't have to change anything for you. Remember who owns who, Ryuk."

He was quiet, then began laughing again. "Oh, Raito. I could leave right now, then who would be your proxy? Your messenger?"

"I'm sure I could find someone." She was irritated at his laughter. He knew that. It was one of the reasons he laughed so much.

"But not someone who knows you as well as I do."

"…say that again, and I'll have you killed."

He grinned, "And that is why I love you, you ruthless bitch."

She sighed, smiling at his unorthodox confession, and nodded. "Fine, I'll change the payment. But if we are going to start sleeping together again you only get half the pay. I'm worth that much, at least."

"Deal, partner."

He stuck out his hand for her to shake. Hers fit perfectly into his with a delicacy that made his grin widen.

He loved her hands.

He couldn't wait to feel them on him again.


	2. Chapter 2

**_Second chapter!! Go me! _**

**_So, so, so sorry for the long wait! I visited Egypt for two weeks and had no access to a computer. My fault. I hope to have the next chapter up in a week, at least._**

**_Please enjoy! And it would make my day if you reviewed, but you really don't need to. It would just make me very, very happy..._**

**_Here it goes:_**

L was determined to figure out the sudden increase in crime, seeing as how something in him refused to let him go back to England. This sudden spurt of criminal activity was odd in the way it was incredibly organized, and perfectly executed. The suspects that were found all had perfect alibis, and were not found guilty when they were taken into custody, nor were they questioned for very long.

He could only reach the conclusion that an incredibly intelligent individual had suddenly gained control of every murderer, thief, arsonist, and liar in the Kanto region of Japan. Which was highly improbable. Or that all the criminals had developed above average intelligence and impeccable timing, which was even more improbable.

He sighed and read over the latest suspect, another mistake. His alibi held up perfectly.

It was disgusting how incompetent everyone who fought for the law had suddenly become. Especially when he knew that more than half of the suspected were lying.

He wanted cake.

Strawberry cake with whipped frosting and a bowl of sugared fruit, with extra sugar and lots of whipped cream.

Watari was out talking to the police chief, getting the latest report on the situation, so asking him to get it was out if the option. He would have to retrieve it himself. He sighed again.

His knees were curled into his chest, a modified version of the fetal position. The blue computer screens lit up his dark room, bathing him in an eerie glow, making him look rather wraith-like.

He would have to leave the hotel to get his precious confectionary. He had tried the hotels desserts and was surprised he hadn't gotten food poisoning. Apparently the cooks were worth little at his hotel. It was a shame. He would have to get Watari to hire new ones.

He uncurled himself from his chair, reluctantly slouching out of the room, debating the pros and cons of leaving his hotel turned fortress. The desire for his cake won over the danger of going outside.

There was a cafe that served his dessert across the street anyway.

--

Raito glanced up from her book when he walked in.

She arched an elegant eyebrow. That was a man who was desperate need of a woman or who had had too much of one. His hair was a crow's nest, there were bags under his eyes, his posture was reminiscent of a whipped dog, and his clothes were hideously cheap and ridiculously rumpled.

He was not a man a woman like her would be interested in.

…he reminded her of someone.

She sighed and closed her book. Ryuk was late.

It seemed like he didn't want his payment after all. She was going to leave if he made her wait another ten minutes.

Raito was bored. She hated being bored.

She looked at the odd creature that had sat at a nearby table, and saw that the stranger was staring at her. She smiled politely, but her sweet expression quickly turned into one of confusion. She knew that man, she was sure of it. She just didn't remember, couldn't remember _why_ she knew him.

They were staring at each other. Her mind raced, trying to pull hidden memories to the surface, a pool of thoughts, all connected, all muddled. She _couldn't _remember! She dropped her eyes and turned away, clutching her coffee as if it could protect her.

Something was very wrong.

And she didn't know what it was.

Raito jerked when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned and looked up. Only Ryuk. Thank God it was only Ryuk.

Ryuk had noticed the fleeting panic his sudden contact had brought Raito. It bothered him.

"Something wrong, babe?" He made the possession in his words obvious. She was his, and panic looked so wrong on her face.

She smiled. As he suspected she would, she had instantly schooled her features into a mask of normalcy. "I'm fine, but you're late." She had a teasing note in her voice that hid the irritation he knew was there. "Did you want to get something?"

He caught her glance at the door. "I didn't want anything. Are you ready to leave?"

"Yes." She stood up, following Ryuk out the door. She felt the stranger's gaze on her as she left.

She did not like that man.

--

The child L remembered had grown into a striking young woman. She, of course, must have forgotten him. It had been fourteen years since her family's murder, after all, and there was a seventy-four percent probability that she suppressed her memories of the brutal crime.

The girl had been young. She had sat quietly while groups of police and investigators had massed around the scene, silently allowing the emergency crew to hover over her.

Raito Yagami: age 6, witness to Soichiro Yagami and Sachiko Yagami's murder.

The murderer had not been found, so the authorities had called L, not knowing that L himself was a thirteen year old boy. He took the case, mostly because he wanted the child to know that her parents had had their justice. He knew what being an orphan was like.

He had still had morals and compassion back then.

She had refused to speak to anyone. He decided to talk to her himself.

The girl hadn't looked at him as he sat next to her at the child services center. He put a wrapped box on her lap and smiled as she looked at him in surprise.

"What is it?" she asked hesitantly. He shrugged and smiled awkwardly.

"Why don't you open it?"

She shook her head and placed it back in his hand. "Mom told me not to accept anything from strangers." There was a pause. "Are you gonna ask me questions too?"

"Only if you'll answer them."

She wrinkled her brow in thought, a picture of innocence. Then she nodded slowly. "I know that everyone is trying to help…I haven't been being a very good girl."

He tilted his head. "I think you're a very good girl, Raito."

"I was scared."

He watched her, giving him her full attention.

"I was reading, but I heard when momma answered the door, and I heard when it slammed shut. Momma always tells me not to slam doors, so I knew it wasn't her who did it and daddy wouldn't have either. The man shoved my momma and she fell and hit her head. I hid.

"I thought that 'this is a bad guy' and I thought that daddy would save us.

"He didn't." She looked at L, eyes wide. "I know what he looks like, I think."

--

Ratio got into the car next to Ryuk. "I'm not paying you to be late, you know." He smirked. He had known she was pissed.

"Got hung up on some business of mine."

"What business?" she sneered.

"I had to get rid of a trail of evidence, can't have anything incriminating lying around. Might get us into trouble."

"You know the boys are loyal. They wouldn't offer any information up if they did get caught, and they are perfectly willing to clean up after your messes, as long as you remain with me." She shifted in her seat. "Have they given you any trouble?"

"The boys or the police?"

"Either."

Ryuk sighed and rolled his eyes. "The police are as useless as usual, and the gents were fine."

Raito turned to look at Ryuk. "Be careful of the police. They seem incompetent, unfortunately L is not."

Ryuk's eyes widened. L, the most hated man in criminal history. He grinned. Things were getting fun. They always were wherever Raito was. A thrill of excitement shot through his veins.

She continued. "I need to contact our partners and warn them that L's gotten involved. And I need to borrow the Hatter. We'll take care of L before he has a chance to figure out what's going on."

Ryuk grinned. Oh yes, things were getting very interesting. "You don't have to do it tonight, right? I had plans for us."

She rolled her eyes and sighed. "You're a horny bastard, Ryuk."

He smirked. And winked at her. "One of the many reasons you love me, baby."

Raito refused to respond to that.

--

L had liked the little girl he had met fourteen years earlier. He had seen potential in Raito then, and he saw brilliance in her eyes now. The fact that she was frighteningly beautiful had not escaped his attention either.

He was a man after all.

**_Le gasp!_**

**_Finally L and Raito meet! Finally Ryuks gonna get some! Finally the author can rant again! (JK.)_**

**_Who is the Hatter? Who are Raito and Ryuk's partners? Questions shall be answered in: The NEXT INSTALLMENT (Dududuhhh)_**

**_So...ya. I hope you liked it! _**

**_More fun to come next chapter._**


	3. Chapter 3

**_I have been horrible with getting this up. Please forgive me! grovels _**

**_This chapter though, ya. It was horrible to write. Things went wrong a few times and characters seemed wayyyy to out of character. I hope I fixed it, cause I'm posting it like this. :P in the chapters face._**

**_SO! As hard as this was to write, I had a ton of fun doing it, so have fun reading!_**

"He knows who I am. Now put him on." Raito hissed in English. Ryuk chuckled at her tone. The man on the other line must have been incredibly unintelligent, because he seemed to be taking to long, and Raito was getting murderous.

It was too bad that the man on the other line wasn't in the room with them. Raito might have tortured him and it would have been incredibly sexy.

How she held her phone was sexy.

Ryuk found himself getting impatient at the man. It was time that Raito came back to bed. It wasn't fair for him that she was taunting him like that, standing in only a button up long sleeve of his. Ridiculously gorgeous, that was what she was. What with her long auburn hair pulled into a loose ponytail and her lithe body curving gently under that unnecessary shirt. She was perfect. And she needed to get back into bed.

"Fuck you. Tell him KIRA needs to give him a message. And give him the goddamn phone so I can relay it, you idiot."

She was cranky. Ryuk smirked. They hadn't gotten much sleep, after all. She usually didn't get hassled this much, not by their allies.

"Getting irritated, Raito?" He couldn't resist teasing her. Her molten eyes blazed when she was pissed.

She didn't respond, moving instead to where he lay on the bed, and pressed her lips to his, violently, expressing her frustration in their contact. He smirked, and a few seconds later felt her mouth twitch into an almost-smile as he pulled her closer, flicking his tongue out to run along her lips, hand running down her back and stopping at her hip. She pulled away before he could go any farther, and stood, waiting for her call to be answered. She wasn't too bothered anymore.

Two minutes later and someone finally picked up her call.

"I've been waiting for ten minutes, Rod."

Ryuk grinned. Her displeasure was obvious, and after a minute he could tell by Raito's face that the man was practically groveling.

"I expect to be treated much better than I have been when I deal with you in the future. After all, your mafia wouldn't want to lose KIRA's support, would you?"

Faint babbling was heard from the other line, and Raito smirked.

"I want to speak with Mello."

--

It didn't take much longer for her to get what she wanted. The American mafia had put up a good fight, but Raito always got her way.

--

"I need to ask a favor, Mello."

Mello liked Kira. For a woman she was incredibly intelligent, if a bit too smart for her own good. And she had never asked a favor of him. As business partners went, she was excellent.

He paused a bit before answering her. "My response depends on the request itself and what I can gain in payment. So what's the request?" She had helped him out a time or two, even before he was the American mafia's leader. When he had killed the previous boss her response had been, 'took you long enough.' Which was rather endearing, in a cold, heartless sort of way. Kira had definitely been generous with her support.

"L is in Japan."

His breath caught in his throat; thank God he had learned to hide his surprise. To be fair, he had known it was coming. L had been researching the criminal activities between the two countries for a little while now, but for him to come out of hiding…

"And what do you want from me?" He asked, nonchalant. He kicked his booted feet up on the coffee table, reclining in his seat.

"I need to find the Hatter. I want to make him an offer."

"Why do you think I could tell you where he is?"

"Don't belittle my intelligence. You two are constantly in communication. He practically works for you alone. I would call you friends, but then, people like us don't make friends, do we?" She was teasing him. He could hear it in her voice.

He smiled. "I can only promise to tell him you want to contact him. Depending on what he feels like doing he'll call you back, or he won't. It's up to him."

"That was all I wanted you to do…Oh. And, Mello…"

"Yes?"

"The man you have screening your calls is very rude. I was deeply insulted that I couldn't get in direct contact with you."

"I'll take care of it."

He could hear the cold smile in her voice as she added, "I'll be sending an assortment of our goods to you soon. It should be in America in fifteen days. At the usual place." Raito hung up, and all Mello was left with was the dial tone.

Shit. He smirked. With that last comment she had trapped the Hatter into helping her. She had been right in assuming that he and Mello were close. In fact, his Hatter had probably heard the whole conversation. There was honor among yakuza, after all, and he wouldn't want to be the one who broke their business deal. He owed her a lot of favors, and she had only just begun to collect.

--

Raito grinned mischievously at Ryuk.

He smirked.

"We're going to get rid of L."

--

L was sitting at his computer. As the police were being fairly slow in getting reports on Yakuza activity to him, he indulged himself.

He was looking Raito Yagami's records up.

She was an interesting person. Her school forms showed her to be a genius, not just intelligent. She could speak seven languages fluently and she never failed to complete anything she was given to do. Her employers all said the same thing, she was a model citizen.

After her parents death she had gone to live with her mother's brother for eleven years. She moved out as soon as she was old enough. L could find all sorts of achievements of hers, including how she had helped tip off the police to various cases she had solved. But that information wasn't public. She hadn't solved a case in awhile.

He hadn't found anything personal about her. It was annoying.

He sighed. "Watari," He called over the intercom.

The crackling reply followed. "Yes, Ryuzaki?"

"Bring me some cake, and let's play chess."

"Alright."

Watari had never been a challenging opponent when it came to chess. L hoped he could find a better one.

--

Ryuk and Raito didn't linger in bed the next day. Fawning was strictly forbidden in their farce of a relationship.

What Ryuk would have liked to have done was study her some more.

He sighed as he pulled his black shirt on. He ran a hand through his unkempt, messy hair. It was spiking out in an outrageous fashion. He was lucky it was rather short.

Raito looked at him from across her cup of coffee.

"You're ridiculously tall." She mused. He smiled and grunted his agreement. He towered over her. "And not in a good way. More like a circus freak." She added.

It was amazing how juvenile Raito could be. He had forgotten that. But it amused him nonetheless.

"We should do this more often. It was fun." He said after a pause. She rolled her eyes.

"This is how I'm paying you. Of course we're going to do this again." She smirked. Her face froze. "Shit!"

"What?" He asked as she raced around his apartment, looking for her clothes.

"I had work this morning."

He tilted his head to watch her better. "Didn't you work last night?"

Raito almost hit him for the insinuation. "Real job. Legitimate job. Not paying a bastard or calling our partners. Drive me there?"

"Any time."

--

Mello looked over at his friend who was pounding the keys into his Nintendo DS.

"You gonna call her?"

Matt almost looked at him. "I have to. She practically owns your ass." Mello snorted.

"Like hell! I just owe her a few favors that's all."

There was a short pause, then Matt asked, "You ever seen her before?"

"…Where the fuck did that come from?"

"Just curious. If she's hot and gives me something fun to do, I'm gonna go work for her."

"Fucking liar. You are not."

Matt sighed. "You're right. I'm not. But I could."

Mello rolled his eyes. "Gimme my chocolate."

"It's right there. You grab it."

"It's closer to you, toss it over here."

"You grab it."

"Fucking toss it here!"

Matt sighed and did as he was told. He was good at that. And hacking computers. He grinned. "So what she wants has something to do with L?"

"Ya."

"Cool."

**_There. I did it. Matt and Mello have been brought in! Wheet whoo! Do tell me what you think. I was kind of messing around at the last bit. I couldn't resist._**

**_Maybe Near'll decide to leap into the story too. I can't tell. He's a weirdie. _**

**_So I hoped you liked it!_**


	4. Chapter 4

**_I am so sorry. I have no idea what happened. _**

**_This chapter is a bit shorter than the others, but I wanted to get it out. I have made you wait too long. _**

**_Without further ado, here it is:_**

Raito ran into the clothing store that was her one honest job. In all truth, she really didn't need to work at all with the income that she received from her less than legitimate business deals, but it was a nice break from her life of crime. She had nothing to hide there.

And she got good discounts on clothes, which was a nice perk.

"You're late!

She sighed. Her manager wasn't mad, only surprised. "And you look trashed. You have a late night last night?"

Raito cursed Omasu and smiled pleasantly. "It won't happen again. I had an old friend over and we had a lot of catching up to do."

Omasu grinned. "Was it the man who dropped you off? Cause I wouldn't mind a piece of that."

Raito shrugged. "Go for it. I'll warn you that he's rather picky about his sexual partners." She wasn't going to mince words today. She was tired and hadn't been able to finish her coffee that morning, which meant that the whole day was going to hell in a hand-basket.

Omasu laughed. "Well, it's good to see that you're human. You having a late day is almost tantamount to the apocalypse, but it's not raining fire, so I guess we're alright. Get to the register. Have fun!"

Omasu went to the back room, hopefully doing inventory, but probably calling her friends.

Raito had no idea why she was the manager.

Her cell rang.

She looked at the number. A picture of the Mad Hatter overlaid by a pocket watch took up the screen. He had done something to her phone to do that, because she sure as hell didn't have his number.

_Fuck._

She couldn't miss this call. Who would have expected the Hatter to call back so quickly?

--

Kira had emerged six years ago. L had determined that much. How they had gotten the power to control the largest yakuza branch he had ever seen, and how they inspired such loyalty, was still a mystery.

Who was it?

His clues on KIRA's identity were limited. He had made a list.

Kira knew all of his men personally

Kira was picky about who was selected to join his organization: no rapists, drunkards, or drug addicts were admitted into the higher ranked circles.

No one who had the potential to make stupid errors had ever met their leader.

He had saved his most loyal from life imprisonment. This meant he had had legal help.

The last offered a way of finding Kira. L needed all the judicial records on all the criminals who had been released early in the past six years.

This would be a good case for Near to sharpen his skills on.

--

"Omasu! I have to take this call!" Raito didn't wait for a response. She walked into the stores office and pressed send.

"Hatter, I wasn't expecting you to call back so soon." She knew the layout of the office and knew where the cameras were. There was no way anyone would hear her and she would put on an amazingly normal act. The room was secure.

"And I wasn't really expecting you to answer." His voice was distorted. "I was going to leave you a call back number." He laughed at his joke. No one had the Hatter's number. Not even Mello.

"Thank you for the courtesy."

"Shall we forgo pleasantries and get to business? It would be an honor to assist you in whatever nefarious acts you wish to pull."

"I want you to hack into L's computer. Undetected. Find out where in Japan he is and what he's doing here."

The Hatter whistled. "You're asking for something that might be impossible."

She grinned. "Not for the infamous Hatter, I'm sure."

"You put a lot of faith in a person you've never met, babe."

"You think I trust you?"

The Hatter laughed. "I like you, Kira. If I ever make it to Japan let's meet up for a drink."

"It would be my pleasure."

"Then I'll get started on finding and hacking the great L's computer."

"I'd like it if you did."

"I'll contact you with the information. …Oh, about payment, Mello has it covered. He says it's in return for your support during the Italian-American mafia incident."

"It was my pleasure. I'm just glad that the situation didn't get to out of hand. Give Mello my regards, will you?"

"Love to, Oyabun."

Raito laughed. And hung the phone up.

That had gone better than expected.

--

Teru Mikami had known Raito was the kind of woman men killed over the minute she had first approached him.

He knew she was going to be trouble.

She had him entranced within minutes of their first conversation.

They had had a strange sort of relationship ever since.

Lately it had matured into something like friendship, twisted with manipulation. They were using each other, and they couldn't be happier about it.

He would have to get in touch with her soon, in case she needed anymore 'favors.'

--

"L, Near has arrived."

"Bring him in Watari, and prepare dinner for our guest. I'll have my usual. With extra truffles."

"Of course, L."

Watari left, only to come back a few minutes later with the small boy in tow.

"Hello Near."

"Hello L." The boy's voice was the same flat monotone as his mentors. It would have been eerie if anyone else had been in the room to hear them.

"What have you been studying lately?"

Near sat on the floor next to L, one lag drawn up to his chest and a Transformer clutched in his hand. "Interrogation techniques."

L nodded and pushed his laptop over to the child. "This is the accumulated information so far. I will give you time to study it."

The room fell silent, "There isn't enough" Near said quietly "We can't determine anything from this."

L nodded. "But this is all there is."

"…"

"We need to figure out why there is so little information." L said.

"…yes." Near nodded as his Transformer flew around his head. "We do."

--

Raito was good at cleaning up the messes that her position as Kira tended to put her in. She could handle a dead body, she could forge signatures, she could erase files and data, she could kill.

She was also a woman, and she had just gotten off work. She was going to have a cup of coffee to celebrate her teaming with the Hatter. She might even indulge and buy herself a piece of cake.

She didn't even like cake.

**_...So with this chapter, we have Near's introduction and the entrance of Mikami. Almost all the players have been introduced, the stage has been set, and everyone is getting ready for their part in this little play of mine. I hope you're having fun with it. I hope you still know what's going on! _**

**_I'll get the next chapter out more quickly, I hope. I'm getting a laptop, so I should have more computer time. Which, under pain of death, will mean more writing. _**

**_On a lighter note, I want to thank my reviewers. I forgot how much I loved this story until you pointed it out again. Big thanks and all my love. (Plus cookies, cakes, pizza, anything you want!) _**

**_Keep me inspired! Drop a comment!_**


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